INDIA: Shillong old age home, abode away from home

. SHILLONG, Meghalaya / MeriNews / August 2, 2008 By Jogesh Doley In the present world when love and care are becoming meagre the Mercy Old Age home is showing a way of love and care for senior citizens. There are 63 residents in this home and there has been help from the government too. SHILLONG MERCY Old Age Home has grown to be the abode for numerous destitute and poor senior people who have no one to look after them. As the name suggests mercy is benevolence and sympathy and true to its name it has given sympathy, love and care to all its residents. This correspondent tried to find out more on this old age home, which has transformed lives of many. There are 63 residents in this home and there has been assistance from the government too. Till a few years back this underprivileged old man was lonely and there was no one to look after him. His fragile eyes and feeble limbs were too weak to feed his stomach. He was going haywire and he had no hope to survive. Then the Mercy Home, an old age home for the destitute and the aged people came to his rescue and received him with warm hands. He is now enjoying the last few years of his existence in this old age home with his new found friends. Originally hailing from Nepal he has made this Mercy Home his adopted residence. He shares his sentiments on how the old age home has transformed his life. He painfully recalls his life before coming to this old age home. There are many people in this habitat who could be our grand mothers and grand fathers. But they have no one to look after them. They are devoid of love and care. Mercy Old Age Home has showered them all the love and the care they deserve at this age. Many new friendships have been made among the inmates of this home and a close attachment has been established. They stay together and pass the valued moments of their lives with their fellow acquaintances. The Mercy Home, which was established in 1973, has been a home for the unfortunate and the elderly citizens who have been abandoned by their family members and who have no one to care and love them. They cannot move their hands and they have their wrinkles, which clearly blubber for love and care. Many have come and resided in this place. They have spent some quality time before departing from this earth. The inmates are very happy with the food, the love and the care they get from the Mercy Home. They also said that they give helping hand to keep the environment clean. Some even said that they get motherly love and care from the people who are taking care of them. When one enters the Mercy Home one can clearly see the old people enjoying movie, some pass time by chitchating but, for some its best to pass time sleeping and to have a nap. The Mercy Home is not only for the old and the poor but also some of the paralytic patients come and stay there. The home has its own dispensary and for some of the complicated cases they are referred to the civil hospital The caretaker of the old age home, Sr Jessie has been a mother figure for all the people and she takes care of all of them. She tells us how the old age home has been taking care of all the unfortunate people from the time of its inception in 1973. People not only from Shillong but, also from all the Northeastern states of India come and spend some of the best part of their lives in this home. She explains that they are getting assistance from the government and well wishers who come and contribute to the funds. This home has showered all the love and the care this old and poor people deserve. Their old eyes stand a testimony for the love and the care they are receiving in this old age home. Source: MeriNews